Boeing Sells Digital Aviation Units to Thoma Bravo in $10.55 Billion Deal, and More

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the AviationOutlook Newsletter.

Your One-Stop source for the most relevant Aviation news briefs and industry insights (MINUS noise).

✅ 1 Email Daily ✅ 5 Min Read ✅ 0 Time Wasted

🫵 YOU become industry-smart!

Here are the 10 Top Aviation Industry Updates for you today.Let’s get started.

Boeing Sells Navigation Software Business for $10.55 Billion

Boeing announced today it will divest significant portions of its Digital Aviation Solutions business to private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion in an all-cash transaction.

The sale includes Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways assets while Boeing retains core digital capabilities related to fleet maintenance and diagnostics services for both commercial and defense customers.

Key Points

• Deal represents a substantial return on Boeing's original $1.5 billion investment in Jeppesen (acquired in 2000)

• Approximately 3,900 employees from the Digital Aviation Solutions organization will be affected, with many transitioning to Thoma Bravo

• Transaction expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals

• Part of CEO Kelly Ortberg's strategy to streamline operations, focus on core aerospace business, and strengthen Boeing's financial position

• Boeing ended 2024 with a $11.8 billion net loss, making this capital infusion particularly significant

• Thoma Bravo manages approximately $179 billion in assets as of December 2024

What It Means

This divestiture represents one of Ortberg's first major strategic moves since becoming CEO last year, signaling a decisive shift toward Boeing's core aircraft manufacturing operations.

The substantial cash injection will help address Boeing's debt challenges while allowing the company to concentrate resources on restoring its engineering reputation and production quality after recent safety and manufacturing issues.

Other Key Aviation Industry Updates for Today 👇

2. GE Aerospace Q1 Results Surpass Market Forecasts

GE Aerospace reported strong Q1 2025 results today with adjusted EPS of $1.49, beating analysts' estimates of $1.26-1.27.

Revenue reached $9.9 billion, up 11% year-over-year. The company saw a 38% increase in operating profit and 60% rise in adjusted EPS.

Commercial services drove growth with a 17% revenue increase.

Despite supply chain challenges and tariff concerns, GE maintained its full-year guidance of $5.10-5.45 EPS, supported by a commercial services backlog exceeding $140 billion.

3. Alaska Adds Three New Cities and Increases Frequencies on Popular San Diego Routes

Alaska Airlines announced today a major expansion in San Diego with three new nonstop destinations: Phoenix (starting August 20), Chicago O'Hare and Denver (both launching October 4). Each route will operate three daily flights.

The airline is also increasing frequencies by 50% or more on popular routes to Las Vegas, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, and San Jose starting October 26.

Following its combination with Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska now offers 44 nonstop destinations from San Diego—the most of any airline—with over 90 peak-day departures.

4. No Injuries as Delta Airbus A330 Engine Ignites During Orlando Departure

Yesterday, Delta Flight 1213, an Airbus A330 bound for Atlanta, experienced an engine fire while pushing back from the gate at Orlando International Airport.

The incident occurred around 11:15 AM, forcing all 282 passengers and 12 crew members to evacuate via emergency slides after flames were spotted in the tailpipe of one of the plane's two engines. No injuries were reported.

The FAA has launched an investigation into the incident.

5. Thai Airlines Cleared for US Routes After Decade-Long Safety Rating Upgrade

The FAA has officially upgraded Thailand's aviation safety rating to Category 1, recognizing the country's compliance with international civil aviation safety standards.

This comes after Thailand addressed 36 safety oversight deficiencies that led to its 2015 downgrade to Category 2.

Thai airlines can now operate flights to the United States and potentially increase services to other countries that reference FAA ratings.

The upgrade follows extensive regulatory improvements and is expected to enhance Thailand's global aviation standing.

6. Lockheed Maintains 2025 Outlook Following Solid First Quarter Results

Lockheed Martin reported strong Q1 2025 results today with sales of $18.0 billion, up 4% year-over-year.

Net earnings reached $1.7 billion or $7.28 per share, compared to $1.5 billion or $6.39 per share in Q1 2024.

The Missiles & Fire Control segment led growth with a 13% sales increase and 50% profit surge.

Despite a slight decline in the Space segment, the company reaffirmed its 2025 outlook and returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases while investing $850+ million in R&D and capital expenditures.

7. SkyDrive Unveils Three-Person Air Taxi Mockup at Osaka Expo

SkyDrive unveiled a full-scale mockup of its SD-05 eVTOL aircraft at Expo 2025 Osaka.

The three-person aircraft (one pilot, two passengers) measures 11.5m long, 11.3m wide, and 3m high.

Visitors can board the mockup at the Advanced Air Mobility Station in the Expo's Empowering Zone through October 13.

SkyDrive also conducted a successful remote-piloted demonstration flight on April 9, flying at 5 meters altitude for 4 minutes.

The SD-05 has a 62mph cruise speed and 9-mile range, with production having started in March 2024.

8. Electra's EL9 Ultra Short Takeoff Aircraft Moves to Pre-Production with $115M Investment

Electra secured $115 million in Series B funding yesterday to advance its EL9 Ultra Short aircraft into pre-production and certification.

The 9-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft can take off and land in just 150 feet—about 10% of the space needed by similar-sized planes.

Led by Prysm Capital, with strategic investors including Lockheed Martin and Honeywell, the funding supports Electra's 2,200+ pre-orders valued over $10 billion.

The EL9 offers helicopter-like versatility with fixed-wing safety, 3,000-pound payload capacity, and 1,100 nautical mile range, targeting both commercial and defense markets.

9. FAA Fast-Tracks NOTAM System Replacement After Recent Outages

The FAA announced that it will deploy a new NOTAM system by September 2025, much earlier than originally planned. The cloud-based system will provide near-real-time data exchange and improved stakeholder collaboration with a scalable, resilient architecture.

This accelerated timeline follows major outages in January 2023 and February 2025 that disrupted flights nationwide.

CGI Federal will deliver the modernization service by July, with operational deployment targeted for September.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the current 30-year-old system "deeply outdated and showing serious cracks," noting it's the first step toward a completely new air traffic control system.

10. New Procurement Alliance Strengthens Military Aviation Logistics Support

AAR CORP. and the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation's Supply Center in Richmond signed a Supply Chain Alliance charter, making AAR their first such partner.

The agreement provides AAR with a centralized resource for contract quote, award, and execution, maximizing procurement efficiencies.

This follows a similar alliance with DLA Maritime from September 2024.

The partnership aims to enhance warfighter readiness by adding agility and resilience to logistics support through AAR's distribution services, advancing the broader National Defense Strategy.